Once in a Full Moon
by Airy Airi
Summary: It was a date under the full moon. Ryoji/Minato.


**Once in a Full Moon**

 **Author :** saichan1989/airyairi

 **Pairing :** Ryoji x Minato

 **Rating :** T

 **Warning :** Shonen-ai, BL, male x male. Don't like don't read. Thank you for junakabisque for beta-reading this fanfiction. I learned a lot from her!

 **Disclaimer :** Persona 3 and its characters are copyright of Atlus.

 **Summary :** It was a date under the full moon.

It was a quiet evening, something Minato was quite grateful for. He might be good at all things social, but he would still like a chance to be alone in peace from time to time; a day for himself that can be described as, "Just me and the world.".

The tranquility didn't last long, though.

"Hello, good evening!" greeted a cheerful voice of a teenage boy.

"…..You're here, again… Ryoji," came the tired reply from Minato. He took off his headphones and got up to a sitting position. His silvery orbs met with that of the other's electric blue ones.

"Can't I?" the boy called Ryoji asked. It was rhetorical actually, since he knew the answer already. A playful smile graced his lips as warm breeze of summer night played with his swiped to the back, jet black hair and yellow scarf.

"…..Whatever."

"Awwww, so cold! I'm here to accompany you," Ryoji cooed, taking a seat besides Minato. Not too long after, Minato found himself lying down again, but this time, it was on the other's lap. Pale, long fingers gently caressed Minato's blue locks, massaging his scalp in a soothing manner. Minato sighed contently and made himself comfortable on Ryoji's lap. Drowsiness suddenly hit him.

"How was your day?" The raven-haired asked again.

Minato grunted, as he was disturbed from his attempt to sleep. "Tiring. My body hurts."

The smile faded from Ryoji's face and the caressing stopped. "Of course, how silly of me to ask. But, good work, as always," the tone of his voice was more solemn now. His lips descended upon Minato's forehead, an act that elicited a faint blush on the blue-haired teen's cheeks.

"Whatever…" was all Minato could muster up as a reply.

Ryoji couldn't help but laugh at his boyfriend's shyness. "Don't be so modest, Minato."

"Just shut up and let me sleep," Minato averted the electric blue gaze, which was plastered on him. Lucky his long bangs conveniently fell down and covered his pinked cheeks.

"Rude," Ryoji's laughter subsided and his lips pursed into a childish pout. "I just arrived here and you, of all things, decided to sleep?"

"….What's to be expected? It's full moon. Things get kind of quiet today," Minato stated, looking up above. A gigantic moon illuminated brightly behind Ryoji, forming some kind of halo around the raven-haired's figure. The scene made Ryoji's presence seemed surreal, almost angelic in Minato's eyes.

 _Such irony_.

"True, that's why we should use this time to the fullest! Hey, what's playing on your MP3 player right now? Let me hear it!" Ryoji chirped, breaking Minato's thoughts. The cheerful grin returned full-blown across Ryoji's face up to the beauty mark under his left eye.

"Same old song, you've heard it already," the blue-haired teen lifted the MP3 player on his chest and showed the LCD display for Ryoji to see. The yellow-scarfed teen shoved Minato's hand gently as his grin softened into a smile.

"I don't care what song it is," he said. "As long as I can listen to it with you, that's what matters the most to me," Ryoji's voice was velvety smooth and Minato once again felt his face turned apple red. He cursed himself for being so uncharacteristic of himself around the other, but he secretly liked it. He liked how Ryoji could easily read his mind when others said he was like an enigma. He liked how Ryoji kept pushing in even if he shooed him away, trying to break pass in defense in order to befriend him. And once Minato let him in, he didn't regret it for Ryoji had always brought nothing but blissfulness into his life.

 _Except that one day in New Year's Eve_ _and a month later_.

"Fine," Minato sat back up, which Ryoji quickly responded with a chuckle. They sat side by side, shoulder to shoulder, before Minato offered one of the ear clips to Ryoji's hand. The yellow-scarfed boy clipped the tool to his right ear, followed by Minato doing the same to his left. A woman's voice could be heard singing through the speaker.

 _ **You may rest in my hands as I watch over you tenderly**_

 _ **I remember about you, how you laughed, how you cried, how you got angry**_

 _ **I will never ever forget about you until my life is exhausted**_

"It suits you," Ryoji commented.

"Really?" Minato asked nonchalantly, leaning his head onto the other's shoulder. His question was answered with a nod from Ryoji.

"It is. I can imagine your friends singing this song whenever they're reminded of you," the yellow-scarfed boy subconsciously intertwined their hands together with such affection. How bizarre that this one song would always successfully make him love the blue-haired even more if possible.

"Don't be silly," this time it was Minato's turn to smile, squeezing Ryoji's hand.

"Told you, don't be so modest," Ryoji landed a kiss onto Minato's hair. "You are loved, by your friends, by everyone… By me. We will never forget you."

"And that's why you're here?"

Ryoji bobbed his head again.

"I will always be here, at least, when it's full moon. It's the least I could do to make up for my mistakes," with his free hand, Ryoji pulled his scarf up, effectively covering half of his face from Minato's view. A pause then followed as he bit his lips. "Minato, I'm so sorry…"

His words were cut by a finger on his lips. When Ryoji tried to speak again, his scarf was pulled down and a pair of soft lips was glued to his own. Ryoji stiffened at first but soon closed his eyelids as he melted into the kiss. The kiss was gentle, calming, much like Minato himself. Nothing lustful and passionate, just a simple locking of lips as a mean to convince their feelings for each other. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity to them before Minato broke the kiss. Ryoji quickly searched for sadness or regret within Minato's silvery hues, but he found none.

"Do you remember, the first time you met me, you told me to sign a contract saying I should accept full responsibility for my actions?" Ryoji's eyes widened for a brief moment as he recalled that fateful day of their encounter at the dorm before nodding to Minato's inquiry.

"This is my choice, Ryoji, and I don't regret it, never. In fact, I'm happy with it. Even if I were to be offered another choice, I would still pick this road, for the sake of everyone I care about."

"Minato…"

"Don't say a word again, or I will turn off my MP3 player and sleep instead."

"Mean!"

"My bad."

Ryoji chuckled at his blue-haired boyfriend's antics and found himself constantly fascinated by Minato's kindness, no matter how many times he had witnessed it. They had shared bodies for 10 years and Ryoji could proudly declare he knew better than anyone did what kind of a person Minato was, inside and outside. Nonetheless, this side of Minato never ceased to surprise him. Ryoji's human form was Minato's doing, and he couldn't thank him enough for that. However, what was Ryoji most grateful for, aside from the chance to see the world, was the chance to also share that amazing compassionate heart of Minato's he was so fond of as well. Such a blessing that a Death incarnation never thought could ever had.

"The sun is about to rise soon," Minato's words snapped Ryoji back to reality.

"Ah you're right. How time flies when I'm around you!" The ravenette tried to be his usual cheerful self again, despite the situation telling the otherwise. Once the full moon ended, the time for separation had come for the two.

"….Will I see you again?" Minato asked, his visage remained stoic, but reluctance was audible in his tone. Ryoji offered a whole-hearted, sincere smile as a mean of comfort, and then he brought Minato's hand to his lips.

"We will, I promise."

Minato couldn't help but mirror Ryoji's smile as relief washed over his heart. "Same time, same place?"

"A full moon date, then," Ryoji wore his teasing smirk this time, causing the other boy to fluster.

"…I will be waiting for you."

"Of course. Well then, I guess this a temporary goodbye," Ryoji rose to his feet, followed by Minato. He stretched himself before taking a good look at his boyfriend one more time. "It's time for me to go back to sleep. I'll see you soon."

Minato could only nod quietly, although a part of his heart still wished Ryoji could stay longer.

"...I love you, Minato," Ryoji said all of a sudden, breaking the silence. His eyes gazed deeply at Minato, as if wanting to imprint the image of his beloved Messiah clearly in his mind.

Minato's eyes rounded in surprise but he wasted no time to reply him.

"I love you, too, Ryoji," Minato's tone was nothing but genuine, eventually ready to let the other boy go now.

The answer seemed to make Ryoji satisfied and he ruffled the soft blue hair of the boy in front of him happily. Four black wings then emerged from within Ryoji's back. When the wings finally came into shape fully, his body began to float above the ground. Ryoji's hand shifted from Minato's hair to his cheek as he leaned down for one final kiss before he ascended, higher and higher until Minato could no longer reach him.

When Ryoji completely disappeared from his view, Minato turned on his heels and started to walk away. The beautiful night landscape around him slowly dissolved and vanished into nothing. He was now surrounded only by the color white and standing before him, was a grand golden door leading to Nyx—leading to where Ryoji slept until the next full moon.

He was going to be alone from now on and Erebus would come back beating the door he guarded with all its might. However, Minato Arisato sensed not even a single fear. He was filled with newfound strength instead; a strength that came from his meetings with Ryoji. They might only be able to be in each other's accompany once a month under the full moon, but it was enough to help him endure no matter how many times Erebus tried to break the door. As his body crucified back into position and he gradually turned back into stone, Minato closed his eyes with a smile; the image of the Death incarnation with the mole under his eyes etched deeply in mind before he drifted back to his eternal slumber.

 _Good night. Till we meet again._

 **Author Notes** :

The quickest fanfic I ever wrote (it's done only in one night and less than 4 hours). I just need to get this out of my system! Dedicated to Merryli for brainstorming the idea with me in our Twitter conversation. R&R would always be appreciated (No flames, please)


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